Your Neighborhood Biker: The Neighborhood #7 Page 3

  “Not sure. I would like to see if Mercy can be home, but we’ll see how Micah and I do in the same place. We didn’t get along too well growing up, I don’t want to impose on his territory and all.”

  “I don’t think that it would be imposing, I’m sure that Micah would like you to be close-by.”

  “He’s got his life here, just fine. I’ve had a checkered past as he likes to call it, so I don’t want to ruin anything for him.” I shrug indifferently.

  “Are you into anything, bad?” she asks, hinting at asking if I partake in anything illegal.

  “Not knowingly,” I say and that’s the truth.

  She has a devious smile on her face, and I like the glint in her eye.

  “So, what you’re saying is you could be a bad boy?” she asks.

  “Are you into that kind of thing?” I look at her curiously as she looks down at her lap, her hair hanging over her face and her shoulders shaking slightly in silent laughter. She slowly looks up at me with a warm smile.

  “I’m not sure what I’m into honestly. There’s not a lot of pickings around here that we all didn’t grow up with, so I don’t think I really have a type, but no, I’m not into bad boys. I can see the appeal, but they’re just not for me,” she admits innocently.

  “So then, would this count as a date?” I ask with hope.

  She doesn’t answer right away, instead she pulls her tumbler to her lips and with her eyes on me, she takes a slow sip. While she pulls the glass away from her mouth, I watch as she licks her lower lip, then runs her tongue along the bottom of her top teeth.

  I want to reach over and caress her cheek, to run the pad of my thumb along her lower lip and to curve my hand around the slope of her neck and pull her to me.

  “I guess it can,” she nonchalantly shrugs.

  “Does that mean that I’m finally going to get your number?”

  Chapter Seven

  We linger at the front door and I’m not sure what to say. I haven’t walked a woman to her door in quite a while.

  She pushes her key into the lock, then with one hand on the doorknob, she turns to me.

  “Would you like to come in?” she asks.

  I weigh the question and while I know that I want nothing more than to spend more time with her, I also want to be a gentleman and not make her feel pressured, despite how much I want to be closer to her.

  “I would love to, but I have an early morning tomorrow. How about we plan another hang out together for Friday?” I ask.

  She looks up as if accessing her calendar and then smiles.

  “I don’t think that I’m closing on Friday, but I’m not completely sure. How about I say ‘yes’ for now, but will let you know when you come into the diner next?”

  “You’ve got a deal,” I say.

  “So, thank you for hanging out tonight, I’m happy that we did,” she says quietly.

  “So am I, thanks for surprising me with the hang.”

  “Are we going to continue to call it a hang out?” she asks fingering the strap on her shoulder.

  “To be honest, I don’t know what else to call it. I haven’t had an actual relationship in a number of years,” I answer.

  “Okay, let’s just go with the flow. We’re hanging out, and the jury is still out, I’m not exactly sure if I like you or not.” Nydia winks.

  I step closer to her and lean my head down. Our faces are inches apart as I move to her ear. “Darlin’ you like me, don’t worry about that.” I kiss her cheek gently while my lips linger then walk away backwards slowly and watch the blush creep across her skin.

  I walk back to my brother’s apartment and sit down on the couch. As soon as I sit, my pocket vibrates and I maneuver to pull out my phone, almost expecting the call.

  “This is Cooper,” I answer.

  “Coop,” the deep voice says into my ear. “There you are.”

  “Prez, what can I do for you?”

  “Do you have anything to tell me?” he asks.

  “Not quite sure what you’re asking. I haven’t been with the crew, if that’s what you mean. Remember, I’m out of town, still helping out my brother.”

  “So, what you’re telling me is that you don’t know anything that is happening down here?” he asks.

  “You’re the first person that I’ve spoken to since leaving,” I lie.

  “I see,” he simply states, clear that he doesn’t believe me. “What exactly is it that you’re doing wherever you are?”

  “My brother needed some bodies to help with a construction project.”

  “Ah, yes. You’re good with your hands.”

  “If there’s anything else, Prez, I need to hit the sack, construction calls for hella early mornings and a lot of coffee.”

  “We’ll be speaking soon,” he promises, then hangs up.

  I shake my head as I place my cell phone beside me as Micah comes out of the hallway.

  “Oh hey, I didn’t know that you were home,” he says scratching his head while making his way to the small kitchen.

  “Just walked in,” I reply leaning my head back on the couch.

  “So, you and Nydia?” he pre-empts.

  “What about it?” I ask turning my head to the side to see him in the room.

  “She’s a nice person, don’t fuck with her,” he warns pointing at me.

  “Wow, nice to see you trust so little in me that you think I’m just a dick.”

  “I’m just saying that Mercy is a small town and the people here become family. They’re welcoming to outsiders and I just don’t want any trouble.”

  “I’m not into anything dealing with trouble, Micah.”

  “Well, being in an MC kinda does, I heard about some of the stuff they started to get into.”

  “Just because I ran with the MC, doesn’t mean that I was purposely into any shit, you know that right?” I say with my jaw clenched.

  “But you know that the MC that you ran with was into some shit, right?” Micah spits back.

  “I wasn’t aware until recently, and as soon as I was able, I came here.”

  Micah takes a deep breath and runs both his hands up and down his face. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight; I don’t want any trouble here and I would rather you stay out of it too.”

  “Mic. I’m here. I’m far from the shit that was happening in Texas and depending on how things go – I’m out of it for good.”

  “Wouldn’t that mean that you’re still in the club?”

  “I grew up in the MC, it’s in my blood. Just because part of it went into the underground, doesn’t mean that all of it is bad. I have no record, I have always kept my shit legit, and I have learned some valuable lessons by being a part of the crew. I’m spacing myself out from the bad and that’s why I am here. Don’t characterize all the stereotypes of the bad MC’s on the club. You weren’t involved, even if you heard about the club, doesn’t mean that you actually know.”

  “Listen, I’m sorry, man,” Micah says sympathetically. “I heard you on the phone, I figured that you were involved with whatever they were.”

  “I’m not.” I reply with finality.

  After a long day, I’m dusty and sweaty, and I’m starving. So I am sitting in my booth at the diner and I just want to see Nydia.

  She’s walking back and forth with plates when I walked in and has been busy dealing with a few packed tables before she came to take my order.

  I ate my meal and sat in the booth relaxing until she had a break, to which she slides into the seat across from me.

  “You look like you’ve been busy,” she notes looking my appearance over.

  “Sorry, I would have gone home first and showered, but I was ready to gnaw off Wyatt’s leg if I didn’t eat something. We worked through lunch and all I had was a protein bar.”

  “You know that there’s a kitchen attached to that bar, right?” she says with a smile.

  “I do, but we were on a roll, and so when you’re on a roll – you don’t stop.”r />
  “Well, dirty looks good on you,” she responds.

  “Are you flirting with me, Nydia?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she shakes her head in a no and then rounds it to a nod.

  “So, about that date on Friday?” I prompt.

  “It’s a date,” she nods with a smile.

  “Good, and what time are you out of here tonight?”

  “Closing, so about midnight, the usual.”

  “Okay, cool,” I begin to move out of the booth.

  “Wait, what?” she asks in confusion to my sudden leaving.

  “Huh? Oh well, I need to shower, and you need to get back to work. But I’ll be back.”

  I say winking before turning and walking out of the diner.

  Chapter Eight

  I stand behind the diner at midnight, leaning against my bike while waiting for the diner staff to close up shop for the night.

  I know that it takes time to close the place down, so I am happy to wait, even though I have another early morning. But I wanted to see her when I looked more presentable, especially after she commented on the filth that I looked like earlier.

  Ten minutes later, the back door opens and Rick and Nydia begin to walk outside. He looks up at me and her gaze follows, he says something to her then she continues walking as he walks back inside.

  She stops right in front of me and smiles. “You are interesting,” she states.

  “I know that I looked like crap earlier and I didn’t want to present myself as a slob, I was just hungry,” I shrug.

  “It’s not a big deal. You’re welcome here in any condition,” she replies placing her hand on her hip.

  “Anyways, I wanted to see you one more time tonight.”

  “Is that so?” she asks.

  “I wanted to ask you a question though, what made you change your mind? You weren’t keen on giving me your number, and then all of a sudden you are.”

  “I don’t think I’ve given you my number yet, don’t get ahead of yourself.”

  “Ah, while that may be true, I can tell that you like me.”

  “You can?” she playfully steps back.

  “Definitely,” I reach out to her and with one hand grab her hand and pull her closer to me. I sweep her long hair off her shoulder and lean into her as she tilts her neck the other way. I run my nose along the softness of her skin and when I get to her ear, I breathe in and ask her if what I’m doing is okay. When she nods, I continue, then my lips graze her cheekbone and a moment later, our lips touch.

  Tentatively, at first.

  She parts her lips and my tongue brushes against hers lightly while she wraps her arms around my shoulders and her fingers thread through the small hairs at the back of my head deepening the kiss.

  We stand in the back parking lot for several minutes, kissing and when we pull away from one another, I have to focus my eyes and regain my composure.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that since I met you,” I say with a smile.

  She returns my smile and then looks around the parking lot.

  “You came all this way just for a kiss?” she asks.

  “I did, and I didn’t want to give you one when I looked like I did after getting off of work, I wanted our first kiss to be memorable,” I offer.

  “Oh, really now?” she asks with a tilt of her head.

  “When we’re old and gray, I don’t want you to be relaying to our grandkids that for our first kiss, I smelled like sweat and tasted like soda,” I joke.

  “Old and gray? Grandkids?” she asks with a laugh.

  “Hey, don’t discard it,” I hold my palms up to her.

  “Don’t you have to be getting some sleep, if I recall you have early start times with Wyatt calling the shots?”

  I nod my head, “yes, I should be. But I’m glad I’m here.” I pull her closer to me by her belt loops and she comes easily.

  “I am too,” she whispers, leaning up on her tip toes, her mouth inches away from mine, “I really am.”

  She closes the gap and again, our lips move against one another as our bodies fit together when she wraps her arms around my neck and my leg goes in between hers.

  The back door of the diner opens, and a low whistle comes from whomever emerged causing our kiss to halt and pull slightly apart.

  “I should be getting home, and you should be getting to sleep. I don’t want you to miss any beauty sleep, then cause yourself an injury tomorrow on my account.”

  “Oh, but it would be worth it,” I wink.

  She begins to walk away and our hands catch, our fingers lingering together.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow?” I ask tugging lightly.

  “I think now would be a bad time to change up the routine,” she smiles.

  Chapter Nine

  Friday evening arrives and I’m nervously folding up the sleeve of a button-down shirt that I’m borrowing from my brother. I’m taking Nydia to a nice restaurant that Percy suggested for a first official date in Hollybrooke and I’m nervous as fuck.

  I haven’t been on a real date in years, and being in Mercy, being around Nydia makes me want to do things that I don’t normally do.

  I want to woo her properly, not just take her back to my place and fuck her then send her on her way like any previous women that I hung out with back home.

  I want to impress her with little known facts about random shit, when before there would be little to no conversation.

  And I want to see her over and over again. I want to be involved in a relationship with her. I want to hold her hand, I want her to call me if she needs something and I sure as shit want to be a good man for her.

  From the moment that I saw her, as soon as I sat down in the diner that first night, I had a feeling that there was something there that was more than a fleeting thought. She was going to mean something to me and I’m going to mean something to her.

  She parks her car in front of Micah’s apartment and as soon as I hear her door slam, I meet her out on the sidewalk.

  She looks beautiful. She has her long hair swept up in the type of buns that ballerinas wear that accents the length of her neck decorated with a single gold chain with a small pendant. She wears a maroon flowy dress that’s cut just below her knees, contrasts perfectly with her light mocha skin tone showing off her strong shoulders, and makes way to her defined arms. Her lips are coated with lipstick to match her dress, that I want to mess up in all of the best ways. When she smiles, all my first date jitters go away and I feel at ease, as if this is our hundredth date and we know one another inside and out.

  I approach her slowly while I take in every single inch of her. She twirls her car keys on her finger with her hand on her hip and a smirk on her face.

  “Well, well, well. Someone sure knows how to clean up,” she says after whistling.

  “Only for special occasions. You look beautiful.” I say while I place my hands on both sides of her hips.

  “I am. But I do have to ask,” she begins nervously while looking past my shoulder, “we’re not going to the city on your motorcycle, are we?”

  I turn and look at my bike and return to her with a playful smile. “I thought that you would enjoy the ride?”

  “I didn’t get all dressed up to get on the back of your bike,” she returns.

  “Don’t worry, we’re driving in a vehicle, I wouldn’t want to risk you getting bugs in your teeth.”

  “Wait, what? When you ride, you get bugs in your teeth?” she scrunches up her nose.

  “People eat bugs all the time,” I shrug.

  “Good thing then that I have the car for the night, right?” I pull out my brother’s car keys.

  “Your brother won’t need the car?”

  “The only places that he goes is to the bar and home, since I’ve been here, he’s only used his car a few times a week. He doesn’t need it tonight, besides, he’s at the bar until closing for some event they got going on,” I say wrapping my arm around her m
iddle and steering her to the car.

  “Oh yeah? What kind of event?” she asks.

  “I’m not sure, apparently there’s some band that lives a town or two over that will be performing there tonight. I didn’t pay too much attention to it.”

  “Cool.”

  “Do you want to go to that, instead of the city?” I ask, hoping that she will say she doesn’t.

  “No, let’s get out of town for the night.”

  The streetlights along the street go on, lighting her face up and putting a gleam in her eyes. I can see the excitement that she carries and I’m glad that she says that. She wraps her arms around my middle and leans into my chest, lays her head against me and takes a deep breath.

  “Thank you for taking me out tonight,” she says quietly.

  “Thank you for finally giving me a chance,” I reply kissing the top of her head.

  I open the car door for her, and she slips into the passenger seat. Once I’m settled into the driver’s seat, I put both my hands on the wheel and sit there with confusion.

  “What’s the matter?” she asks after I’m sure what felt like an hour of me staring at the dashboard.

  “I’m going to be real here for a minute and man up to a pretty serious confession,” I say.

  “Okay, is everything okay?” she asks with concern.

  “Yeah, everything is fine, I think,” I turn my head and with embarrassment, look at her. “I’ve never driven a car before, I’ve only ever ridden on bikes, and I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I’ve driven something with four wheels.”

  She looks at me with wide eyes and her jaw loose, then slowly, a smile appears on her lips and laughter comes out of her throat.

  With one hand on the dash in front of her and the other on her chest, she leans back and gathers her composure. She unbuckles her seatbelt and then opens the door. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I stay in the driver’s seat.

  She walks over to my side of the car and opens the door for me, bends down and then puts one hand on my knee.

  “So, this is what’s going to happen. You’re going to go back inside and put the keys back on the counter. And then we’re going to get in my car and I’ll drive us to the city. Then tomorrow, I have the day off of work, and we’re going to get you behind the wheel. But not tonight, I’m hungry and it’s a forty-five minute drive to the city. Is that a deal?” she asks.